Large water bills pushed up by government and EU regulations

Dr Richard Wellings appeared on BBC Radio Devon's Interactive Lunch to discuss the increase in household water bills.

"We're very worried about the impact on low income households," said Dr Wellings with regard to the fact that some households are now spending 10% of their income on water.

"A lot of this is the result of EU directives that have very stringent rules on water quality and we think a lot of these are pretty pointless. They won't actually have any health benefits but they are pushing up costs."

Bills have largely increased over the past twenty years as a result of increased regulation. Rather than increasing investment in small improvements in water quality, Dr Wellings argues that investment must be allocated more rationally such as in extra capacity.